[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Systems, Eli Lilly & Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and MEDACorp., F.
Consultant/Advisory Board.
Poster
256. Anxiety Disorders: Human Biomarkers
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 256.4/Z7
Topic: C.15.k. Anxiety disorders
Support: HealthEmotions Research Institute
MH046729
Meriter Hospital
MH069315
Title: Individual differences in anxious temperament are predicted by 5-HTT binding in the bed
nucleus of the stria terminalis
Authors: *S. E. SHELTON 1 , A. S. FOX 2,3 , J. A. OLER 1 , T. R. OAKES 3 , B. T. CHRISTIAN 1,3 ,
R. J. DAVIDSON 1,2,3 , N. H. KALIN 1,2,3 ;
1 Psychiatry, 2 Psychology, 3 Waisman Lab. for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Univ. of Wisconsin -
Madison, Madison, WI
Abstract: Pharmacotherapies targeting the pre-synaptic serotonin re-uptake transporter (5-HTT)
are increasingly being utilized to treat affective disorders, including depression and anxiety, and
differential availability of 5-HT may be related to the vulnerability for developing affective and
anxiety disorders. Our previous research in rhesus monkeys demonstrated that anxious
temperament, defined using a composite measure of threat-induced freezing behavior,
separation-induced vocalizations and stress-induced cortisol levels, is positively correlated with
glucose metabolism within several emotion- and stress-related regions (bed nucleus of the stria
terminalis [BNST], amygdala and hippocampus). The relationship between 5-HTT binding
potential (BP) and anxious temperament was examined in regions that demonstrated significant
correlations between glucose metabolism and anxious temperament. We predicted that in these
regions 5-HTT BP would account for the relationship between glucose metabolism and anxious
temperament. To investigate the localized effects of 5-HTT brain systems on anxious
temperament, dynamic high-resolution microPET images were acquired to measure 5-HTT BP
using the tracer C11-DASB in adolescent rhesus monkeys. 5-HTT BP was positively correlated